Q & A: Dr. Laura on Stay-at-Home Moms

By

WSJ Staff

Apr 9, 2009 1:00 am ET

Love her or hate her, Dr. Laura Schlessinger knows how to command an audience. Her radio show is heard on over 250 stations internationally, and she’s authored 10 best-selling books. This week, she releases her 16th book, “In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms,” her take on the “mommy wars,” in which she unapologetically urges mothers to remain at home instead of juggle a career and motherhood. Dr. Schlessinger, 62, recently spoke with the Wall Street Journal’s Michelle Kung for a telephone interview.

WSJ: You’re very insistent that mothers should stay at home as full-time moms for the sake of the child. But given our current economic crisis, is that feasible for couples who may require two salaries to make ends meet?
Dr. Schlessinger: Of course this is a huge concern right now with money issues being so tight. But what I have discerned is that people of modest means have been able to handle what’s going on far better than people who are used to having a lot of stuff; it’s the people who put their life’s worth into products, and not people, that are probably the most shell-shocked.

One thing I’ve been happy as peach pie about — because I’m all about the children and the happiness of a woman because that makes the happiness of the home — is that nannies, day cares and babysitters are all collapsing, which is forcing moms and dads to raise their children at home…

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